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l^fvy/'SH" 



V 



Hon. JEFFERSON DAVIS, OF MISSISSIPPI, 

On the Exercise of Civil Power and Authority by Mililary Officers; delivend in the 
U. S. Senate, on Monday, Augitst 5, 1850. 




The Senste having' under consideration tlie 
following resolution, submitted by Mr. Cass oa 
the 271*1 of June: 

Resiihed, That tlie Committee on Military 
Affairs bs in.->tructed to inquire into tl;e expedi- 
ency of prohibiting by i.i'iv any officer of t!ie 
army from !ls^mmirlg or exercising within the 
limits of the United Stites any civil power or 
-authority not conferred by an act of C()ngress,and 
of providing an adequate punishment lor such 
offence. 

I do not propose to go into the merits of 
tliis resolution ; yet I wisli to call the atten- 
tion of the mover of it to tlie necessity of mak- 
ing it more specific, of directing the inquiry to 
that which he wishes to reach. As it stands, sir, 
connected witli the history o-f events which have 
recently transpired, we should be at a loss to 
determine whether it was proposed to censure 
the Congress of the United States, from v,hos3 
delay the necessity h is arisen, or the Executive 
of the Ui.ited Stiites— eitiier the last or the pre- 
sent Administration — or the officers of the army. 
Most probably, sir, the latter; and, if the latter, 
then ihe ceneure is imposed on, that to which 
it least justly attaches. It is a fact well known 
to the wuole country, that during the war with 
Jl'exico we held possession of the district of San- 
ta Fe, and the whole Territory of California, by 
the power of the military forces alone. To what, 
then, were we to refer for the preservation of 
order? Not to the courts which had just been 
expelled from the country by military authority ; 
inot, in the case of California^ to the legislation 
of Congress, for they had no power to legislate 
for it ; but necessarily to the military autliority. 
which held it by conquest, and under orders of 
the Executive of the United States. 

That is one of the contingencies of war. It 
necessarily res Its from war that commanders 
sometimes perform functions not ordinarily en- 
trusted to military officers ; it is one of the ex- 
treme necessities for which each case must itself 
provide. As the law now stands, each officer I 
iiasumes it under the high responsibility he feels 
!u) prove to his country that a necessity existed 
which justified the assumption. I do not pre- 
tend to say that all which has been done de- 



serves to be approved. Indoe<l, on the other oc- 
casions I have Slid, I believe, that authority ha4 ' 
been assumed by officers exercising command* 
in the territory of the United Stites, not com- 
p;tible with the duties of their profession, not 
required by necessity, and iii viohition of the 
rights of the United States. I will refer t* 
a case before me, which fully maintiiins my 
position upon t'lis bmiich of the subject. There 
is a district upon the Rio Grande which lies beloir 
the old limits of the province of New Mexico, 
vvhic'i was never a part of it, but which in my 
opinion betvune a part of I'exas by the treat/ 
of San J.icinto. The commanding officer 
of the division stationed at Santa Fe di- 
rected the officer who held subordinate com- 
mand over this district, and whose hwidquarters 
were opposite to El Paso, to apply to it what is 
called the Kearny code, the gorvernment provided 
for New Mexico, These orders were referred 
to the Executive liirough the usual chonnel of 
correspondence, and I have before me the an- 
swer : 

War Departement. 
"Adjutant Genend's Office, Mareh 8. 1850. 
'1 am directed by the Secretary of War t» 
state, in reply, that, regarding as he does your 
orders to jNIajor Van Home, of December 28» 
1 849, as manifestly assuming to decide the ques- 
tion of territorial jurisdiction of Texas over the 
places enumerated therein, and professing f* 
extend a "code" of laws which had not beem 
accepted by the people even whilst under military 
authority, it is det^med necessary distinctly t» 
repeat, for your guidance on this occasion, what 
the Department has often stated, tliat the Ex©. 
cutive has no power to adjust and settle the 
question of territorial limits involved in thiscasew 
Other co-ordinate departments are alone compe- 
tent to make the deeiaion. The main duties of ,^ 
the army are, to give protection and security o«'* 
the soil of the United Statee, and preserve ii>. 
ternal peace. Whatever else ia done must arise 
from the urgent pressure of a necessity which 
cannot be postponed, and to avoid the exercise 
of any civil authority which is not jodtified by 
that necessity. Ih sending to these people tl» 
"Keaxny cOKie," or ^ther codes, it is proper t*' 



u- ^ 



■remark, that the only regulations which are ap- 
'f)licablo to tlicir condition are those hiws which 
were in force at the period of the conquest of 
Kew Mexico or Texas may establish. The only 
exception is, that they be not in opposition to 
■^e constitution and laws of the United States.'' 
Tliisis in keepinp: with the incssatresof Presi- 
dentTaj'iorjtin-ee of whicii now lie before me,and 
in each one of which he declares it is not for the 
Executive to determine the boundaries of the 
TTenitories, and that the bound iry of Texas cm 
1)6 determined by tiie legislative branch only. 
So far as any officer of tlie army has exercised 
authority to determine this question, it therefore 
uppears that he is responsible for it. 

I will not weary the Senate by reading 
■more thati findquite necess iry, and will generally 
l)ut refer to authorities, unless their reading he 
called for. Either in tlie c ise of Santa Fe, Ca- 
lifornia, and the Lower Rio Grande, or in t!iat 
fwrtioii of Mexico which was occupied during 
the war, there was no civil court. The courts of 
the enemy could not be permiited to exeicise 
jurisdiction in the country, and Congress had 
provided by legisl ition for no courts under the 
authority of the UnitiVi States. Offences were 
constantly committed in and about tlie army, of 
which milit.iry courts conld not take cognizance. 
If, in theabsenceof legislation, and under a stern 
lix©Si:ty, somecivil authority has been assumed, 
wrao is to be censured for it? Shall the censure 
fkll upon their Executive, who maintained our 
authority by the means granted to him ; or iijion 
the officers of t!ie army, for the faults \»liicli we 
1javc<;oinniittcd ? Tiio beam is in our eye, and we 
should not be searching for the mote which is i i 
our brother's. It was not in the power of the Exe- 
cutive, and still less in the power of the othcer ; 
of tlH) army, to remedy the evil. It was in us ; 
and we have been dea^lict to our duty. We 
Aave created a necessity, and driven these officers 
of the axmy to assume an authority which was 
extra-profe«.siona], and from which they would 
all have gladly been relieved. 

With these remarks, which are intended 
mainly to dir;x;t the mover of this resolution to 
some moditicatioH of its terras, or induce him 
to accompany it with such instructions as will 
]X)int the committee clearly to what he desires, 
and which will give it some power to remedy 
existing deficiencies, ii u]wn full examination 
any be found to exist ; I will proceed to the eon- 
siaeration of some i>ortio,» of that argument 
which has been connected with this resolutio i. 
I would be gliid if the debate upon this resolu- 
tion liad been such as would permit me to stop 
■with the expression of those views which bi'long 
to the lesolution itself. But the rem nks of the 
aenatorfromTex:i8 involve other considerations, 
and require a specific answer. At the time 
when the boundary of his St.ite was tiie subject 
■of discussion, at the time when Congress 
i&Ljcoaioned to deprive liis JStute of its territory, 






he wanders from that question'whlcb wag before 
us, and which might iiave called out all his en- 
ergy and devotion as a Texan, and goes into the 
remote history of the army upon the Rio Grande, 
to display his affection for the St te he repre- 
sents. VViiat had the orders and the discipline 
of the army on the Rio Grande to do with the 
territorial riglits of Texas ? And what, I would 
ask, cm the senator find to justify him upon 
tills occasion, at this remote day, to bring up 
questions of the discipline of a camp of which 
he showed himself supremely ignorant, and in 
the treatment of wiiicli lie showed hi mselt su- 
premely unjust ? When tlies" renvirks were- 
submitted to the Sen- te, I could illy brook the 
defamation of my old comm-uider. and not very 
patiently bear the .studied detraction from my 
comrades of that luu 1-eariied reputition^hicli 
many of them gai icd at the expense of their 
lives, and many who live possess with the in- 
cumbrance of wounds and disabilities which: they 
nii.st c irry to their gr.ives. Hut happily believ- 
ing tliatthe fune of one and the other w;is not 
to be shaken by such an att ck, I was prepared 
to allow the defence, both of that commander 
and my comr;des, to fill i;ito the h.-mds of those 
who were not restn^wned by those politic.il con- 
-sideratiois which bore upon me — to those to 
whom it would be a task eq'i.illv gritefii, and, 
under the circunistunci's, perh ps more appro- 
pri te. I did not-fe ir to leave their f m.^ with- 
out a defei.ce, well" ;(,»sured ; s T was tliat their 
reputation v,\:S bas^d upon services of which the 
country is fully avv.-ire, and that t leir defence 
might securely b? left to liistory,aiid to that more 
impartiil uapnic'ins ibie witness, tlie tr.idition 
which dcsceiuls from the actors in the scenes to 
which he referrid. But that senator luw thought 
proper, at a more recent period, to reaflSrni all 
he said upon a former occ ision — to re ffirm it 
when till', circumstances were changed, when 
that restraint of political 'rel tiois to which I 
have referred as .cling upon me had p is.sed away» 
when politic.d disti ctio.is <is connected with 
my old commander had been closed by tne grave. 
Now, sir, if a |)olitical opposition ever did dis- 
qn dify me i.i the minds of just men from de- 
fending the military conduct and cli;ir..cter of 
Gen. Taylor from the assr.ults of error or preju- 
dice, th;it dis'ju ilific.ition ceases. Now, sir, I 
am free from these restr.iints, and come to per- 
form a duty which it is equally sweet to my feel- 
ings .and becoming to my position to execute. 

Now, sir, we have reached a point when the 
m-iterial of history is to be colK.'cted. Now 
partizan zeal has reached the limit beyo:id which 
honor.ible men do not extend it, and the scales 
of justice m-iy be more truly b.danced. Under 
these circunistmces, then, I come to .save from 
injury the reputation of a gallant .soldiej- and a 
devoted p triot ; I come to save from detraction 
my buried friend : and I expect to prove by the 
very witnesses wliicli the senator from Texjis 



liimsclf brouglit forward, the gi'oss injustice of 
everyreflectioii which he has ni ide, and I expect 
from his generosity and his manliness, and th .1 
benevolence of c'laracter, which I have known 
BO long to distingnisli him, that lie will retr.,ct 
every aspersion he has thrown upon the fame of 
that distingnislied soldier. 

The PRESIDENT. The senator must not 
apply a reni:n-k of that kind to any senator. — 
"Aspersion" is a word that should not be so 
used. 

Mr. DAVIS, of Mississippi I never design to 
be personal to any memberof this body, certain- 
ly not to the senator from Texi's. I am but an- 
Rwering his own rem.irk ; which remark, under 
the suggestion of tiie Cliair, I will read, in order 
that it may be seen how far my language is ap- 
plicable. In referring to the people of the State 
of Texas, he says : 

"The people of that State have been unvi^ar- 
r:intably ass iled, traduced, and defamed by the 
present Executive of the nation when a General 
in the field. If I were not sust.ined by incon- 
testable authority, I would scorn to impute to 
any high functionary of this Government aught 
that was unworthy of his station, or of the high 
position which he occupies : but in this case I 
am fully sustdned in every word I say, as I v/ill 
show by recourse to testimony stronger than 
the mere assertion of a political opponent, that 
will carry conviction to the mind of every can- 
did man. ' 

Now, sir, I siy I propose, by the ver}^ witnes- 
ses tiiat he has brought before the Senate, to 
prove that he was wholly unsustained in his as- 
persion ; and I expect him as a just man — not 
to 8 ly a generous and benevolent man, as I said 
before — to withdaaw that defamation, or else to 
find himself in a position, which he has himself 
described, :is on;' " it would excite his scorn to 
eccupy." The f cts in tliis c se — the true 'ip- 
plic.ition of the sentence he quoted — are quite 
the reverse from the view vvhic'i the senator from 
Texas lias ti. ought proper to present. The let- 
ter to which he refer.>^, and from which he makes 
a quotation of the opiiion expressed by tlie 
eommanding general of the army of the Riu 
Grande, that tlie militia of Texas were too f .r 
from the border, and tlieir aid could not tliere- 
fore be depended upoi ; that assertion was no 
defamation, as he says, of tlie character of the 
people of Texas, no reflection upon their g illan- 
try. Nor vv ,s the expression ii relation to the 
Texane made by the General, wiien, as the sena- 
tor 8:iys, not one of them hid ever been pi ced 
under his command, and not a solitary corps or 
individual of them h;;d he then ever seen ranged 
under Ills banner." 

Sir, before the war commenced specific au- 
thority W.I8 given to that gener.:l to call upon 
the people of Texas for forces if he required 
theoi. The intention was that Texas was to 
kave priority iii any demand for troops. In a 



letter from the War Department, of August 6, 
1845, he was instructed to look to Texas for 
such auxiliary force as he might require. In 
keeping with my promise not to read more ex- 
tensively tlian was necessary, I will not read 
that letter, unless the reading be called for ; 
but, before the receipt of that authority, a cor- 
respondence had commenced with the President 
of Texas in relation to the defence of her settle- 
ments. The commanding general, writing from 
his headquarters at Corpus Christi to the then 
President of Texas, Anson Jones, says as fol- 
lows : 

" Headquarters, Corpus Christi, 

"August 16, 1845, 

" You have undoubtedly received intelligence 
of the hostile steps taken by Mexico, and the 
probable declaration of war against us by that 
Power. Under these circumstances, I do not 
deem it prudent to detach any portion of my 
force at present; and it is the principal object 
of this communication to recommend that any 
volunteers or spies now in the service of Texas 
be continued in employment, should you con- 
sider it necessary for the defence of the frontier. 
If you concur in this view, I will, at your in- 
stance, despatch an officer to muster into the 
service of the United States any companies 
which yon may designate as necessary for the 
security of the frontier, to conform in numbers 
and organization to the laws of the United 
States. Should such musters be made, I will 
recommend that the officers and men, while in 
service, continue to receive the same rate of 
pay whith they have drawn from the Texan 
Government. 

" My presence, and that of my command, is 
now imperatively required on this frontier. 
When our relations with Mexico and the state 
of the service in this quarter shall permit ray 
absence, I will take great pleasure in proceedings 
to the seat of government, and conferring with 
you personally in relation to the proper disposi- 
tions to be made for the permanent occupation 
of the frontier." 

Tliis was done on his own responsibility, as 
appears by the following extract from a letter 
o the Adjutant General, at Washington, D. C: 
" Headquarters, Corpus Christi, 

"August, 26, 1845. 

" In regard to employing volunteers from 
Texps, you will perceive that I have in part 
anlicip itvd the wishes of the Government in 
my letter of the IStli instant to President Jones, 
a copy of which was furnished you on the 19th, 
III that communicttion I looked .only to the 
defence of the frontier against Indian aggres- 
sions ; but I shall now communicate Vfith Pre- 
sident Jones, and ascertain the number of volun- 
teers th it c in be called into service in case of 
an invasion by Mexico, and shall take the neces- 
sary steps to arm and employ that force, sli6uld 
the safety of the country rei^uire it." 



In answer to this letter, the President of Tex- 
s,s, AnRon Jones, informed him of 300 r.mgers 
then in the service of Texns. These ran^'ers 
were mastered into tlie scrvii^e under command 
of General Taylor. One company of thes;- 
'rangers was serVirijr witii him at hi.s head-qu.ir 
ters at Corpus Christi, where he found them 
when lie arrived in that country. They were 
wnderthe command of Capt.iin IJel], tiow, I be 
lievc, tlie Governor of Texas ; so tli.it if he h id 
written any thinj^ in that letter of IMarch 29 
1846, which expressed any opinion in rel.ition 
to the troops of Texas, it was subsequent to 
the time that they ii id been mustered in under 
his «)ram:md, and after a portion of them had 
eerved at his head qn.irtcrs. It was not, then, 
without any personal knowledge of them. Il 
"Wim not, then, when, as the senator assumes, ht 
was bonod to form his opinion entirely from 
their niilit;iry Idstory, and "the bright lustre oi 
their own lone star." The conclusion thattheii 
remoteness rendered it improper that he should 
vely on tlie people of Texas for volunteers, was 
fully justified by subsequent f cts, which will 
be presented. The senator from Texas, who 
ilias seen service himstdf, ivuows as fvell as any 
-one that a general standing with his comm'Uid 
almost in eo.ittict with an opposinjj army ; before 
.liostilities had commenced, and when the hope 
was still entei'tained that he might avoid colli 
sion — I say thnt, under such circumstances, he 
knows a,s well as any one tliat militia are not 
the most desirable force ; he knows as well as 
nny one vviiy a general, instead of volunteers, 
should ask for regular recruits to strengtiien his 
comma.id, when it was necessary to preserve the 
fitrictest order in his own camp, when, to carry 
out the policy of conciliation, it was essential to 
have troops who would implicitly obey orders, 
both in sight and out of sight, and that he should 
have troops whom, if necessary, he could detach, 
in full assurance that if they fell in with any of 
the inhabitants of the country, they would 
neither wantonly offend nor maltreat them. — 
These were considerations, which fully justified 
iiim in nsking for regular recruits rather than vol- 
unteers. These were considerations, however, 
that he did not present. 

Coniined to the view which the senator from 
Texas has presented in an extract — the fact that 
the militia of Texa.'? were too remote from the 
border to be depended upon — there is nothing 
to have provoked an attack or to have warrant- 
ed even a complaint. That opinion was fully 
verified by the delay which followed his call 
'Tjpon Texas for troops when colli-sion became 
Inevitable. When it was apparent to him that 
ihe conflict must ensue, then, as early .•'s he be- 
came convinced of that fact, (April 2.'j, 184G,) h' 
■wrote to the Governors of Texas and Louisiana, 
and CiiUed upon each of them to furnish him 
with four regiments. Now, see what follows. ; 
\>vi tite Texans, as the senator says they would 



Ii.avc done, rally to his standard in a moment? 
Did they come before the troops of Louisiana? 
Upon the answer to this question I rely for a 
decision as to the justice or the injustice of the 
conclusions to which the senator from Texas 
lias arrived. This c ill was made upon the same 
Jay both upon Texas and Louisi ma — was an- 
swered by the arrival of part of the Louisiana 
troops upon May 20th, and on M ly 24th the 
other detachment arrived. J3ut the first notice 
that I find of the arrival of any Texan troops 
was on June 24th, one montii after the .arrival 
of the Louisiana troops, and then as b^'ing 
encamped .-.t Point Isabel for tlie purposes of 
organization : 

" Headquarters, 
Cixr OF Matamoros, May 24, 1846. 

" Sir : I have to report the arrival tiiis day of 
Gen. Smitli, with the bittalion of the first infan- 
try, the Washington regiment of the Louisiana 
volunteer i, and a company of volunteers from 
Alobile. Another regiment of Louisiana volun- 
teers is below, and will arrive pi-obably tliis 
evening or to-morrow. This c(»min md was ac- 
companied from the mouth of tlic river by the 
steambo ;t ' Neva,' wi)ic:i succeeded without dif- 
ficulty in reaching this place." 

"Headquarters, 
Matakgros, June 24, 1816. 

" Some voTunteers have arrived at BrasoB 
Santiago iVorn 'I'enncssee, presumed to be of 
the tvrelve months' quoti, but I ha,ve received 
no report from tlieir co:nm mder. The volun- 
teers who previously arri\ ed from New Orleans 
have nearly all move! to Birrit;i, except two riv 
giments at this place; and I shall bring them up 
the river as soon as I can pro( nre tnmsporta- 
tion, which lam impatiently awaiting, and for 
want of which I am still unable to make a for- 
ward movement. 'J'he volunteers from Texas 
are encamped near Point Isabel, and are now 
organizing under the direction of the Gov- 
ernor." 

Now, must not the Sentar from Texas onthii 
point withdraw every reflection that he has 
made ? Dcm>s he not, in the first place, find that 
that latter was not written before the General 
had command of the Texan troops "? Does l»e 
not find that, inste-ad of reluctii^ce to exercise 
the authority conferred upon him, he ordered 
Texan troops to be mustered into service before 
he had received the authority from the War De- 
p,artment? Does ho not find, further, that he 
c died upon Texas at the same time that he 
called upon Louisianan, and that about a montli 
intervened between the arrival of the troops of 
those States? Then Task him, in the face of 
all these fact-s, whether he will still persist in hia 
.assertion that tl;C opinion quoted by him v,a3 
unfounded, that it was a reflection upon Texan 
troops, and that the Texans were waiting to 
join at a moment's warning the General's stand- 
ard, and to punish the Mexicans ? The senator. 



who well knows tlint tlie statement in the letter 
pointed to a ftiot wliicli subsequent events esab- 
liihed most fully, yet converted it into a stigma 
upon the people of Texas. Sir, it required 
ingenuity of t!ie liiifliest order to find any reflec- 
tion in tiiia upon the people of Texas, it re- 
required a proncness to censure to see in it any 
tliinof else than a direct conclusion from a slate of 
£icts whicii the work) knew then, and wliich subse- 
quent events have established, if it was then un- 
known, that Texas was sparsely settled, her bor- 
ders constai.tly invaded by s ivage foes and that 
she was occupied in tlie defence of her norlhern 
and western frontiers when the army of t!ie 
United States was ordered to Texas to protect 
her from invasion by Mexico. But out of tliis 
simple exti'act from a letter wliich was supported 
by facts such as 1 have mentioned, he not only 
draws the construction of a stigma upon tlie 
people of Texas, bi;t he makes it a basis for 
giorihcation of his constituents of Texas which 
1 am sure the peof-le v/ould never have claimed 
for themselves. Who are they ? Are they not' 
emigrants from Stjites of tliis Union ■? Did not 
the revolution of Ttxas springfrom the energy, 
the courage, aiid Die free principles which emi- 
grants from the United States had carried into 
Texas? And if they diflered in any respect 
from the people of the United St ,tes, it must be 
by the mfusion of that blood which the Senator 
from Texas seems so much himself to dispise — 
that of the original ?dexican iniiabitants. In | 
this alone can they differ from other people of 
the United States. It is strange to me that a 
senator who himself was at the he;;d of the 
revolutien, liad the glory to have been leader of 
that last great b ittle which terminated so glo 
riouslyfor the flag of Texas — that he, who can- 
not fail to remember that his ranks were filkid 
by emigrants w'lo came to aid their brethren in 
their struggle, and who had never been residents 
in Texas — strange that he should attempt to 
make invidious distinctions between the people 
of Tex;us and other citizens of the Uniti^d States? 
But, sir, if tiiese four regiments wiiieh I have 
stated did notarri^'e until after the Louisiana 
regiments, there is another fact somewhat in- 
dicative, which comes in as supplementary to 
the arguments of t!io senator. Eut three of 
these regiments never arrived — t o of mounted 
troops, and one of liifafitry ; the fourth regiment 
never came. Let no one suppose I s ;y this with 
any view to cast r^ilection upon the people of 
Texas. Par otherwise. I refer to it but to 
establish the fl.ct vviiich the General knew be- 
fore, that they were not in a condition to furnish 
large quot^is to his army; it was a sparsely 
settled country, filled by person."? wlio had not 
yet " put their houses in order," it would be at 
great personal s crifice, and v/ould requii-e more 
tban ordinary time to raise and organize troops; 
and, under Kuch circumstances, to detach I r'jti 
lodiiis of iiie:i from the demands v/hicli their 



condition creates, for the purpose of war, it 13 
necessary that the indncemeiit should bestrong, 
and the term of service short. 

The senator from Texas said that the Texans 
were kept at I'oint Isabel, the most unliealthy 
situation, that they occupied it for weeks without 
tents, and that tents were lyi^!g at Fort Brown,. 
&e. It would have been very Jiard for the 
senator to have condensed in a sentence of tho 
same length a greater luunber of errors. Point- 
Isabel was a high point, the iiighest point in the 
iicigliborhood, tlie only one exempt from drift- 
ing sand. It was selected as a site for the geii- 
ei\d hospital, and rennii.ed such till the conclu- 
sion of ojieralions in that quarter. An arm of 
the sea .swept its base, and it was the only high 
hill in the neigiiborhood th;it was covered witli 
grass. It was a desirable position, as far 
as health and comfort were concerned. Then 
he says they wvre kept without tynts. Perhaps 
that is the point that makes it so grave an accu- 
sati<m. It could not be the position itself, for 
the senator but a short time ago v,as describing 
to us the great importance of Point Isabel, its. 
superiority over otiier positior.s in the ncigi.bor- 
hood of the mouth of tlie Rio Grande. I'hen,, 
however, he was arguing for a garrison to bu 
sent there, to guard the custom house. When- 
it was to be described as the enc impment of 
the Texan troops, it was at once converted into 
tlie most unhcaltliy position in the neighbor- 
hood. Now, sir, fV^r the .statement about the 
tents. He selects Fort Erovvn as a depot from ' 
whicii tents might have been drawn. My opimoni 
is, tiiat from Nova Scotia to the isthmus of Pa^^ 
nama, he could not have selected a place to 
whicii he migiit not as well have gone for tents 
as to Fort Brown. The gallant and obstinate 
defence tliat the garrison had made deprived it 
of its camp equip ;ge. They cut up their tents 
to make sand bags to form ramp srts against tha-^ 
enemy. They were without tents themselves; 
instead of being the storehouse from which tents 
were to be drawn, the brave defenders were 
themsflves unslieltered. In this letter of May 
20, nearly a month after the call upon Texts 
for troop.s,the General wnite as follows: 

'•Headquarteiis, JIatamoras, 
May 20, 18-10. 

* * * * * I feir thatthft 
volunteers have exhausted ths supply of tents, 
deposited in New Orle.ms fur the supply of thi.'i 
army. We are greatly in want of tiiem, and f 
must requL'stthat iminediite measures be tiken-" 
to send direct to Brazos Santi igo. siy 1000 tenta 
for the use of the army in tlie field. The tents 
of the 7t!i Infantry were cut up to make sand 
bags during the recent bombardment of Forfc 
Brown." 

Sir, the senator from Texas, an old soldier, 
s'lould have looked still further iito t'lis qiiea» 
tiou. The depots of tents were ii the United 
States', not on the Hio Grande. A war h«d suddcu- 



6 



fy come upon the country, and the ordinary sup 
plies were quiti! insufficient, and soon were en 
tirely exhausted — not only of tents, but of all 
the necessary camp equipage. The Quarter 
master General, with that energy and fertility o* 
resource which so eminently distinguish Inm 
resorted to every expedient — among others, tin 
use of a. new material for tents, the nviterial or- 
dinarily used for their manufacture being ex- 
hausted. Of this material substituted, tent.- 
were manufactured and transported to the army 
as rapidly as transportation would allow. — 
Where, then, sir, is the foundation for this charge 
which would ii sinuate, if it does not specify, 
inhumanity upo;i the part of the General — that 
he kept troops in the most unheal'hy exposure 
wholly unprovided with tents, while he had j; 
depot of tents at n short dist mco from their en 
campment '? Vanished, sir — vanished under tlic 
npplic .tion of the touchstone of f ict. 1 have ; 
right to appeal to the justice of the senator to 
withdraw this reflection also. 

But again : that senator, in the same temper 
of self-glorification, refers to the battles of Palo 
Alto and Resacu de la Palm;i,and siys : "Why. 
sir, 250 Texan rangers, if he had applied for 
them, would have repulsed any attempt that 
might have been made to cross the Rio Grande 
by the Mexican troops, and the song of peace 
would have been heard uninterrapted up to tlie 
present day." Yes, sir, 250 Texun rangers, or 
at most 500, he Siiys, would have been sudicient 
for that purpose. Yet, sir, a squadron of dra- 
goons, before hostilities had commenced, was 
Bent out to observe the river, and reconnoitre 
fibove the headquarters of our army. It was 
commanded by a soldier whose gallantry w.-s 
never questioned or su.spected, and wliose d '.ring 
finally cost him his life upon the pl.dns of Mexi 
CO, while hi.« junior c.iptaiii was one of the most 
accomplished soldiers in our ai-niy, one whose 
education had been perfected abroad, and thev 
both had seen service in the field. These offi- 
cers, at the head of their companies — Captains 
Thornton and Hardee — were captured in the 
neighborhood of the American encampment by 
n ddtichment of that very armv which he sup- 
poses 250 Texan rangers could have held in 
check, and tauu'd into pe cefnl choristry. 

Mr. President, this whole country was throwii 
into one general burst of joy — our towns Were 
illuminated when the little army on the Rio 
Grande repulsed, beat on two fields, a Mexicar. 
array three tiim/s their number, advantageously 
posted and fighting with obstin c/ propcn- 
tionate to their nu.nerical superiority — but wh\ 
recount it? — It w.ia an army recording to th' 
senator's dictum, which could have been helii 
in che<-k by 250 Tex.m r.mgers ? Is it true 
sir, that those soldiers who had sp-nt tlieir live.- 
in acquiring their p'-ofession, wit!j an army o' 
?,000 niL-n — tlini v/hich none was ever mor 
favorably composed for desperate service, old 



«oldiers and young leaders — performed only what 
250 Texan rangers could have done so much 
•nore efTectually ? Shades of Ringgold and iVic- 
fntosh. Barbour. Ridgely, and Duncan, and thou, 
the hero of the Mexican war, let not your ashes 
he disturbed ! The star of your glory will never 
be obscured by such fogs and fleeting clouds as 
th^'t. It will continue to shine brighter and 
hj'ighter as long as professional skill is appre- 
ci.ited or bravery is admired, or patriotism lias a 
sjihne in the American heart. 

But, sir, it was not alone in the United States 
that the military movements and achievements 
on the Rio Grande were viewed with admiration- 
The greate-st captain of the age — the Duke of, 
Wellington — the moment he s;iw the positions 
t'^ken and the combinations made upon the Rio 
Grande — the moment :o saw the communication 
opened between the depot at Point Isabel and 
the Garrison at Fort Brown, by that m -sterly 
movement of which the battles of Palo Alto and 
Res ica de la Palma were a part — excl imed, that 
General Taylor is a general indeed. And yet, 
sir. all history i-* to be revt'ritten, all the rapture 
and pride of the country at the achievementi 
upon those bloody fields are to disippear. and 
the light of science to pale before the criticism 
of that iSenator, by whom we arc told that a lit- 
tle band of mounted riflemen could have done 
that which cost so many American lives and 
hecatombs of Mexicans The Senator from 
Texas spoke in language well cr.lculated to feed 
the vanity of his State, but not as a historian, 
nor, as it seems to me, quite ae an American 
Senator might, and in a manner s'ill less becom- 
ing to an old sold er. The Senator goes on to 
express the ferocious impatience of the Texans 
to pursue the Mexicans, but says " they were 
restrained, and lieutenant colonels from the in- 
terior, were permitted to lead our troops through 
the dense chaparrals and jungles of Mexico, 
whilst the brave Texans were restrained or tiiken 
to the Southern pi .in.s, there to meet beneath 
burning suns a lingering death of disease." 

Mr. President, who restr;;ined them? They 
came not until the enemy had gone. They 
came not until he had concentrated his forces at 
Monterey. They came not till the troops of 
Mexico, fir beyond tiie Sierra Madre, and even 
from San Luis Potosi, were reported to have 
nvide a junction with the retreating army at 
Monterey. Who, then, restrained them ? Who 
.sent them to Southern plains? What lieutenant 
colonel led the troops through the jungle and 
the chaparr.il ? Sir, the fact is that these troops 
were led by the highway, the only way by which 
infantry could have iK'en m.u'ched. The columtil 
(f march followed a plain wide road. There! 
-vas no jungle and no chaparral The only! 
letour made from the great route pursued byj 
'he armv was m.ade by Texans them.selves, 
They took the route through China, which ii 
probably the route referred to by the Beoator 



«nd they lost some two or three of tlieir men. ! fore reaching that pla^e, or it might be beyond 
But he siys tliey could have spt to the city of it, at the Piissof Los Muertos— correctly aamed^ 
Monterey "in June, and tiuit tliey could have if intended to promise diiith to an attickingcol- 
tiiken the city or been killed. They could not [ umn— for it is one of the strongest places by 
h ive got there in June. I doubt whether they ; nature, against an army going from the North, 
could'^have got there at any time alone. The j which is in the country. 

outposts «»f the enemv retired before the 'ad- He had been corresponding with the Depart- 
vanced guiu'd of our "army. They no doubt ' mejit from time to time, informing them ofhia 
would have fought a nmaller force. I want of transportiition, of his inability to ad- 

But, if tiipy h;id fuially got there, then the j vanee, and ;dso announcing his purpose, as sooi* 
senato'r has put in a very good alternative, " or as he should have made a depot at Caniargo, to 
they could have been killed." Tiiey were ; m:irch upon Monterey and take it Thattowa 
brave men. 1 have no doubt t!iey would have had the reput-ition for the greatest strength na- 
dared to go wherever tiieir chief would have ; tural and artifici d. It was believed by tho 
ordered ; and, if he had been unvvise enough to ! lAIexieans to be impregnable. In all the domes- 
have ordennl them to .Monterey, I have no tic struggles, the Indirji incursions, and various 
doubt tliey would have attempted it, and that , wars of Mexico, it had never been taken. Gen- 
they would have been killed in the attempt. , eral Ampudia, the militnry comiuandant of the 

Then the seintor from Texas, in his second town, pledged himself to its inhabitants that, nn- 
epeech, attempts to recount for the refus.,1 of less driven'to extremity, he would give us bat- 
the Texan infantry to proceed to Monterey, ! tie outside of Monterey. A small force he 
they having been discharged at Cam.irgo, about [ would no doubt have met upon the road ; and 
one month" before tiie battle of Monterey. He ; the inhabitants complained that he did not marcli> 
says that the reason why the Te.vans declined out to meet the army that did go. The senator 
was the unpopularity of the officers, and that siys that the fortifications were not commenced 
there was no prospect of further : ction. j before September. Now, the great fortification 

Now, sir, to take up the reasons oneat a time: at Monterey— that called the New Citadel, 
The leader (.f that infantry regiment had served j which, among the volunteers, had the soubriqvet 
with distinction in the army of the Uniti d States, I of the Black Fort^was dusky With age. Its 
and was well known as one of the best otlicers stone battlements stood, and still stand, proof 
in it. He was the adjutant general of Genera! against any strength we ever h; d, and, a ainst 
Atkinson in the BlickHawk campaign of 1832. i the assaults of mounted riflemen, might .stand a 
It was General Johnson, tbm whom there is ; thous nid years. That never v/as tiken. .sir, and 
rowhere to be found a braver and rarely a more ' we never had the power to take it, save by capit- 
skilful soldier. How, sir. did he get into the ulition. Admirably situated as it was, and hav- 
comm md of the Texan regiment of inf (ntry ?— big all the massive strength of Spanish fortitica- 



He was elected to the office, I supp<.S'.'. They 
elected their officers, as I ui.derst.md it. Then 
it was by their own clioice that he got the com- 
mand. 

In the next place, was there any apprehension 
that he would keep them out of dmgerous ser- 
vice, or any fear th.:t they would not get into a 
fiirhtif there w. s one? No one who knows 
anything of th:it officer will ever believe it.— the most pu-t, are only one story high, and im- 
When his re'nment was discharired, and left him mediately overlooking the narrow streets. This 



tion, it commnnded the town, which it had thd 
power to demolish. 

Ag..iiist small arms the town itself was a forti- 
fication from one end to the other. The houses 
beingbuilt of stone, with walls three or four feet 
thick, fiat roofs, surrounded by ballustrades fitted 
for the exact purj^oses of a breastwork, made the 
vv-holetown a fortification. The houses, for 



at Camargo, General Johnson remained, and of 
fered his services ; s an idividual ; they were ac- 
cepted, and he was distinguished in the battle of 
Monterey, and complimented in the general or- 
ders. Agatn, as to the prospect at the time of 
any further action: the prospect about that time 
was immedite. The report was, that Busto- 
mente was alrendy in the vicinity, and that Pa- 
redes was on his way with reinforcements, and 
General Ampudia. was reported to be, with great- 
ly augmented force, at or near Monterey. The 
■ commanding general, when he corresponded 
with the Department, said, indeed, that he placed 



w IS no place, sir, for the charge of horsemen. — 
This error may have resultetl from another, 
which was indicated when the senator referred 
to the fict that the heavy ordnance was left be- 
hind. He supposes it was left by choice. Not 
so, sir. It was left behind solely from necessity, 
and for the want of transport. tion. 

The deficiency of heavy artillery was sup- 
plied by an extraordinaiy amount of efibit. 
Unbroken horses were tiken and harnessed in 
to supply teams for two howitzers and a mortnr. 
The commanding general had to depend upon the 
enemy for the transportation of the provisions 



no confidence in tlie reports of thoMexic'ins.— { to supply his troops. The transportation,_wa8. 
He did not know where they were, nor when to a great extent, obtdned from the Mexicans 
they would arrive— whether they would give them.selves. That march was an extiaordbiary 
him battle at Monterey or not; it might be be- 1 one. It was hurried, as the Genenil's correa- 



pondence 8liow8, In order to aid the Govern- 
sncnt in conclndiiig ncgotialions peace, ai)d w'dh 
the hojx^ of preveiitiijg the necessity of a peneriil 
war. The Jiiarch waa ther.fore, undertaken, all 
■nprepared as the army Wiis. It became neces- 
sary for him, to reduce his army by leaving behind 
every ine'ihcient man — regiments of 900 or 1.000 
men were cut down to 600. With tliis jiicked 
force he eomiuenced his m:!rcli,which wa.s believed 
at the time would terminate in one of tlie most 
severely contested battles ever fought. And, .sir, 
the struggle among tiie volunt^'er regiment.s 
was }^s to who sliould be peraiittcd to go. The 
letters re;Kl by the senator from Maryland, and 
Tvhicli I will not re;id again, .sliow thit tlie Gen- 
eral offere' the Te.xan uifu^.try an opportunity 
to go on with the army. But, sir, they did not 
ivaiit to go. I do not .s:iy tiiat they were afraid 
to go, but tliey did not want to go on foot. It 
W;i9 witJi didicully that one foot regiment \v;!s 
T;iised and tliat regiment declined at tlieeleveiith 
hour. 

Dut, ftir, the scisator s.iys these Texan troop.s 
did good servie-e — tliat is, the mounted men : 
that they took the pi iza, took the heights, and 
took the Bishop's pidace. Well, sir, I am at a 
loss to know upon what grotu;ds the senator 
rests thoss statements. Tlie phiza was never 
taken. There i.s, therefore, no question as to 
who took that, it was never taken. No one 
ever saw it even e.xeept at one corner, and tliat 
at ft distance, until after the capituhilion. It 
remained in the hands of the Me.vieans. They 
had concentrated their troops on it. ' They 
covered with troops the roofs of the neighbor- 
ing houses, whicli surroundcvl the plaza, over 
which they hung a.s threatening clouds up to the 
time whe;i it Wiisfinally .surrendered by eaj'itul - 
tion. Thei-efore, it is usc^kss to argue about who 
took tlie plti;a. 

TTien, as to the Bishop's palace, which the 
senator seems to invent with all the charms once 
at/,:;ched to the 'Halls of the Montezumaa," he 
evidently bupposes that Bisliop's palace to havcj 
tecu a Hio-st formidable place. Probably he 
considers it a fortified castle, with mo.:t, and 
drawbridge, and tower, and garrisoned battle- 
ments ; if so. he is much mistaken. On the 
contrary, that Bishop's pal ce was the remdns 
of a liouse once coninu-nced but never tiiiished, 
never garrisoned, and never susceptible of being 
defended. It stood t'u'n ,■ s unappropriated and 
«s unfit for defer.ce as t!»e hire walls of the 
hurnt theatre ui>on Penn.sylvauia avenue. Even 
the little redoubt at the end of the pd a-e v.as 
huilt uj^on the opposite side to th- 1 wliie'.i was 
attacked. That redoubt was not built to resist 
an sttack, but to cover the army if it should re- 
treat on the Saltillo road, after behig driven out 
•f the town. It wis a work of defence for : 
retreating army, and not a work for resistatceti^ 
an invading one. It was on tiu' wrong side o) 
the paLce for that, loo!ung to tlic town of ilon 



terey, and not t 'wards the troops who attacked 
It. As to the heights, t!ie takir,g of which he 
ascribes to the Texans, tiiey were t;iken by all 
the troops of Wortli'sdivi.sion ; and thut gallant 
soldier, to whose memory we have recently paid 
a tribute — the soldier wl;o bore to his grave the 
wound honorably received at Lundy's Lane — that 
soldier, most competent to comm i.id a division 
composed of v.'.rions arms, led, besides a regi- 
ment of Texans, the veteran troops tried at Pa- 
lo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. With tiiose 
troops the Texans in brave and generous rival- 
ry struggled, and a mod. st man would be slow to 
.say tha.t they achieved tiie feats on which rests 
the fame of that field Gen. Worth was never 
accused of prejudice against tae Texans, though 
he w.-s sometimes accused of favoring them 
too mucli. I will read extracts from his report 
touching each event, and it will be seen how the 
heights v.ere carried, and by whom : 

Extracts from General TVortlu's report rf the battle of 

J\Iontere7j. 

"On tlie mnrninq: of the 21st the division was 
put in motion, and with such formation as to pre- 
sent tlie readiest, ordei of balile on any point of 
assault. At six the sdv^nce, consisting of Hays's 
Texans, suj'porteii by the light companies, lirst 
hrigrtde, under C;'p*:iin C. F. Smith, (both ex- 
tended as the valley widened or ftontraeted,) close- 
ly followed by Duncan's light artillery and bat- 
talion heads of column.'', on tinning the angle of 
the mountains, at the hacienda called San Jeromino, 
came U|>on a strong force of cavalry and infantry, 
mostly the former. A conflict immediately en- 
sued. The Texans received the heavy charge of 
cavalry with the.ir unerring ritics and usual gal- 
laii'ry; the light companies o|iened a rapid and well 
direuled fire; Duncan's battery was in action in 
one minute, (promptly snpporttd liy a section oj 
Mackair.«!, delivering its lire over the heads of our 
men. Ere the close of the comb;u, which lasted 
but fifteen minutes, the first brigade had formed 
to the front on the riirht and left, and delivered 
its fire. The second brigade was licid in reserve — 
the groimd not acbuitting of its deployment. The 
enemy retired in disorder. 

" At 12 in. a force was detached under Captain 
C. F. Smith, with orders to storm the batteries on 
tlie crest of the nearest hill, called Federacion; and 
after takii g that, to carry the fort called Soldada, 
on tiie ridj^e of the same lieight, retired about si.K 
hundred yards. The two eHectiially guarded the 
slopes and roads in either valley, nnd consequent- 
ly the approaches to the city. This command 
ccmsisted of four companies {K 2rl, D 3d, and G 
and II 4th artillery) of the ariillery batallion, and 
Green '.•-•, McClowaii's, P. A. Gillespie's, Chand- 
tis'.s, DmIIow's and McCulloch's companies of 
Texas riflemen, under Major Chevalier, acting 
in co-operation — in all about three hundred efTec- 
tivps. 

" The ajipearauce of heavy reinfiircements on 
the f ummit, and the cardinal importance of the 
operation demanding further support, the 5:h, 
under Major S'-oti, and DInnchard's company of 
volunteers, were ininiediaiely deinched, accompa- 
nied by Urigadier General Sniiih, who was in- 



9 



Btructed to take direction in that quarter. On 
teaching the advance parlies, General Sinit!) dis 
covered that, under favor ot the ground, he could, 
by directinj^ a portion of tlie force lo the ris;ht, 
and movin>^ it obliquely up the hill, carry the Sol- 
dada simultaneously with the Federacion. He 
Accordingly very Jutliciously pointed, and accom- 
panied the"5lh, 7th, and Hianchard's company in 
that direction. Captain Smith's ccmimand, havine 
most gallantly carried the first object of attack, 
promptly turned the captured gun — a nine-pound- 
er — upon the .second, and moved on with his main 
body to participate in the assault upon Soldada, 
which \va.«! carried in gallant style by the forces 
under Scott, ?.ii!es, Blanchard, and Hays, (who 
had Ijeen detached on special service, but who re- 
turned in time to sliare with tifty of his men in 
the first a.ssault, and take a pro ninent part in the 
eecond) — the whole directed by Gen. Smith. 

"Lieutenant Colonel Childs was assigned to 
kad this stojming party, consisting of three com- 
panies, (J and G 4th and A 3d, artillery battal- 
ion,) three companies 8th infantry, (A, B, and 
D,) under Cajjtain Screven; with two hundred 
Texan riflemen, under Colonel Hays, and Lieut. 
Colonel Walker, (captain of rifles) acting in co- 
operation. The command moved at three, con- 
ducted to its point of ascent by Captain Sanders, 
military, and Lieutenant Meade, topographical 
engineers. Favored by 'he weather, it reached 
by dawn of day within about one hundred yards 
of the crest, in which position, among the clefts 
of rocks, a body of the enemy had been stationed 
the previous evening, in apparent anticipation of 
attack. Theeneaiy's retreating fire was inefl'ec- 
tual, and not returned until Colonel Childs's and 
Hays's commands had reached within a few yards 
of the summit, when a well directed and destruc- 
tive fire, followed by the bayonet of the regulars 
and rush fif the Texans, placed us in possession 
of tlie work. The cannon having been previously 
withdrawn, no impression could be made upon the 
massive walls of the palace or its outworks wilh- 
«ut artillery, except at an enormous sacrifice. 

"After many aflairs of light troops and several 
feints, a heavy sortie was made, sustained by a 
strong corps of cavalr)', with a desperate reso- 
lution to repossess the heights. Such a move had 
been anticipated and prepared for. Lieut. Colonel 
Childs had advanced, under cover, two companies 
©flight troops, under command of Captain Vinton, 
acting major, and judiciously drawn up the main 
body of Ilia comin.ind, flanked on the right by 
Hays's and left by Walker's Texans. The ene- 
my advanced boldly ; was repulsed by one gen- 
eral discharge from all arms ; fled in confusion, 
elosely pressed by Childs and Hays, preceded l-.y 
the light troops under Vinton ; and while tliey fled 
past, our troops entered tlie pahice and f(U't. In 
a few moments the unpretending flair of the Union 
had replaip<l the gaudy standard of Mexico." 

Due credit was given to the Texans here and 
elsewhere, for what ihey did and I am one 
«f the last to deprive them of a single feather 
in their plume. I grant they deserved what 
they got ; and no one rlaimed fur them more, 
Bntil the senator from Texas discovered that the 
army was derelict or unemployed, and that Tex- 
as came in and took the town forihem. 

The lioiioruble sci-.ator IVum Texas tello us that 



Texans did all this. They took the Plaza,, 
the palace, and the heights. I am well 
assured that no one of the brave men who 
struggled in that contest could ever make any 
such pretensions. They know too well the 
di fliculties of the performance. They know too 
well by whom they were led, by whom they wera 
supported, by whom tliey were covered, and by 
whom they were directe;!, ever to make such a 
claim, (t could only be made by one who did 
not see, and who has most carelessly read the his- 
tory of that contest. 

The Senator from Texas, after these high 
claims, complains that notwithstanding such 
service, the Texans v.ere denounced as the 
refuse of the army, and he must rescue them 
from obloquy. I ask him who has cast oblo- 
quy upon tliem? Who denounced them as the 
refuse of the army.' I ask him still further, if he 
inlenils to assert that Gen. Taylor withheld from 
the Texans due credit for their services in any 
batJe.' Gen. Taylor v. as a man of few words. 
He usually said what he thought, and always 
thought what he said, and lie exfiressed it briefly. 
He was never extravagant in the commendation 
of any man, and never withheld justice from any. 
I will recur to various places in his report, to 
show the equal notice taken of all who were alike 
entitled to notice. 

Extracts from, the report of Gen. Taylor after the bat- 
tle of Jlonterey. 

"Major General Henderson, commanding the 
Texas volunteers, has given me important aid i;i 
the organization of his command, and its subse- 
quent operations. 

"Colonels Mitchell, Campbell, Davis and 
Wood, commandins: the Ohio, Tennessee, Mi.s- 
sissippi and second Texas regiments, respectively 
* * * 

"[ have noticed the a'>ove officers whose con- 
duct either fell under my own immediate eye, or 
is noticed only in minor reports which are not 
forwarded. For further mention of individuals, I 
beg leave to refer to the reports of division coiu- 
man^ers, herewith respectively transmitted." 

Here the colonels of Texas were commended 
in ■ommon, and equally with those of other regi- 
ments who were longer under fire, and reference 
is made to the reports of division commanders 
for more particular information. !n the case of the 
Texans, those division commanders were Worth, 
from whose report ! have read and thei-r own 
Gov. Henderson, commanding in the field.' Uiit 
this was not all ; and I call the Senator's special 
attention to general order : 

" Headq'iarters Camp vear Monteret, 

" General Orders, No. 124. 

October 1;1846. 

" The mounted troops from Texas, having ex- 
pressed a desire to return home during the present 
cessation of active service, will l.e mustered out 
of service and discharged to-morrow. 

" The CommMndinic General ta.kes this occasion 
to express his satisfaction with the efficient service 
rendered by the Texas volunteers during the cam- 
paign, and particularly in the operation.s around 
Monterey; and he would especially ackiiowledjfe 
his obligations to General Henderson, Generals 
Luniar and Eurlesun, and Colonels liays and 



10 



Wood, for the valuable assistnnce they have ren- 
dered. He wiflie.s all the Texiis volunteers a 
happy return to llieir families and homes. 

" Coi A. S. Johnson, vvlio has served in th • 
campaign as in*ipei;tor g:e:ier-al of the volunteer 
divislo 1, i.s herehy honorably discharged from the 
service. He will recive the thanks of tiie Com- 
mandins; General for the imporuint services renJ- 
ered by h.m in tiiat rapacitv." 

By Order of General Z. Taylor. 

Now ."^ir, where does the senator stand? These 
are the fuels, which, as I said before, and now re- 
peat, require the senator to withdrtw his accusa- 
tion. His error w:is certaiuly )2;reat, as the lan- 
guage of the senator would induce one to supfiose 
that there had been denu:iciation for actino; well at 
Monterey. After claiming t!ie capture of the town 
as the work of the Texans, he s.-.- s : 

" Even after tliut they were denounced and 
stigmatized as th** veriest refuse of the communi- 
ty, and as a dis'ionor to tlie army." " Even 
these deeds were notsuffi -.ient to res^^ue them from 
obloquy and defamition." 

The fact is that ihey were commended highly, 
and specially commended for their services in i)at- 
tle, but were censured for their irregularities, 
which it was thedu'y of the genera', to prevent if 
possilile, if not, as far he could to correct, und he 
would,not have done it without ins'ru-M ions. It had, 
however, been made his particular duty, by the 
special orders he had reeceived, to conciliate the 
people of Mexico in every cpiarter in whicii lie 
marched. Thus to the ordinary obligation was 
added that of sjiecial instruction by iiis govern- 
m nt. 

The senator treats the subject of the murders 
about the town of Monterey after the capitula- 
tion, as though it had been a Mexican killed in 
battle, and subsequently rejei-lsthe distinction, ar- 
guing for it as a fiir retaliation. A retaliation upon 
whom.' He says a Texan was killed, and it was 
a fliir retaliation to kill a Mexican. Did they 
kill the man who committed the murder? If he had 
been found there would have been no necessity 
for violating orders. But the retaliation likely to 
occur was the killing of innocent persons — it might 
be helpless women and children — by firing upon 
a house, or \ty killinj:, some peaceful Mexican 
coming with supplies to nurket, iiecause some of 
the robbers from the mountains had killed aTexan. 

The senator from North Carolina near me, (Mr. 
B.\DGER,) reminds me that this is the Indian rule; 
but it would be as impolitic, if applied by an in- 
vading general attempting to conciliate the people 
invailed, as it would be inhumane. The people 
were disarmed, and whilst we held the country 
there was an obligation to protect them, if we 
failed in that [)roleiUiou, and permitted the robbers 
fmm the mountains to come among them, and these 
robber.-^ killed one of our own men, the failure was 
ours, and the crime was ^lot that of the helpless 
inhibitmts. We were bound to punish the rob- 
bers who violated their pro[ieriy, and vvere the tej-- 
ror of the country. We became their guardians, 
and our neg'ect of that duty could not justify 
us in killing one nf the peiole of the town 
because these mar ludersiu their visits should mur- 
der one of our people. But this the senator from 
Texas calls retaliation, as though the unarmed in- 



habitants were to protect the troopa, instead of 
the reverse. 

But he says that after the capitulation of Mon- 
tery the Mexicans were not disarmed, but went 
armed about the town. If the senator will turn 
to the articles of capitulation, he will find ivJt only 
the number of arms that they were permitted to 
retain, but the num'^er of rouni's of ammunition 
which they were allowed, and the conditions of 
the grant. When they crossed the plains to San 
Jjuis Potosi, the ret'ring troops were allowed for 
defence agiinst the Indians these arms, and with 
them in their hands they marched out of the town, 
under the supervision of our troops. 1 never saw 
ail armed Mexican riding about the town after the 
capitulation, and the occurrence must have beea 
very rare if it ever hanoened, except under a pass- 
port from our owu officers. 

There was an armed lancer shot in the street, 
and that was the particular atrocity to whieh ref- 
erence was made. An officer of the Mexican army 
upon parole was present in Monterey, and with 
him he had an orderly. They were about to start 
from Monterey to go to S iltillo. He was riding out 
of the town, and the orderly was following. That 
orderly was armed because he was goiog into the 
country, and he was shot irom a window as he 
rode thri>ugh the street. The immediate comman- 
derand military s;overnorof the town of Monterey, 
the lamented General Worth, told me that that 
offii'.pr on t>arole, on leaving tov.'n,had just shaken 
hanus with him, and before his hand was yet 
cold from the oirting grasp, he was informed 
that the offi-.er's orderly had been shot in the 
streets by the Texan, Fitzsimmons. The brave 
honorable Texans who were there never counte- 
nanced the act. The brave and good men of the 
Texas regiment were as indignant as others at the 
infamous atrocity. Col. Hays was the first to ar- 
rest the offender ; and, if he had been allowed to 
deal with him, that individual would probably 
have met summary punisliment. This is but a 
simple. The true soldiers of the Texas regiments 
and of every other, denounced these irregularities 
of their own troops or of any other. They ajp- 
ported the commanding general in all that he did 
for the honor of his country, for the honor of the 
army, and of the flag he bore. The complaint 
whicli h makes is unjust to the better class, the 
great majority of the Texan troops, who never 
countenan-el or det'en led these atrocities. 

He must have heard of Mexicans shot at other 
places, and at an anterior period. The senator 
surely cannot intend to justify such an act as that 
wliich is fully reported in the document before me, 
and to whicli I have referred. Tiie testimony iti 
relation to it was taken i)y the captain of the Bra- 
zoria companv, and Colonel Hays of the Texan 
regiment, it was suffi -ient to have convicted him 
if there had lieen any court of competent jurisdic- 
tion, and this constituted one of the atrocities of 
which complaint was made. Was this justifiable 
retaliation ? Or does he refer to that respectable 
citizen of Linares, murdered by a party remote 
from the camp of the commanding general, to 
whom the comolaints of the murdered man's 
t'amilv came? That is another case, of the class 
of which yon, Mr. President, (Mr. Shields be- 
ing ill llie chair,) who served in the Mexican 



n 



■Wfir, so well understand, as making; in a soldier's 
inind the distin<'.tion between a murder and tlie 
Tkilling of an enemy in battle. You, sir, know- 
also why undisciplined cavalry coiTunit tiiese ir- 
gularilies ninre frequently than other troops. 

But the senator reads from a letter (jf June 16ih, 
1847 : 

"The volunteers for the war, so far, g;ive an 
earliest of better condncl, with the exotiition of 
the companies of Texan hor,«e. Of the infantry 
I have had little or no complaint. " 

If the general had gone further, and said that 
irregular cavalry always produce disturbance in 
the neighborhood of a camp, he would have said 
•no more than my experience would confirm. 
With their freedom from :atigue at the close of a 
march, they are restless; and when in camp, 
while their horses stand in tether, they are always ' 
ready to avail themselves of a chance to wander , 
far from the camp; and, thu'; oftener and further I 
removed from restraint, they commit mfjre irregu- 
larities than other troops, for rhis rea.son. 

The senator went on to say, in re!ation to the 
Btatement thtit some shameful atrocities had been! 
perpetrated in Monterey after the capitulation of, 
the town, "Wiiat high encom'ums are these, in ] 
acknowledgr^eiu of valorous and chivalric deeds? 
What encouragement to cheer a veteran? What 
encouragement to offer to a young and ardent pat- 
riot?" 

What had atrocities after the capitulation of the 
<own to do with gallant feats in ()att!e? Nothine-, 
sir; nothing. And what could the veteran feel 
but indignation at knowing that shameful atroci- 
tie."? were being committed upon an unarmed peo- 
ple? How could the ardent hope of a young pat- 
riot be chilled, when told that he was to support 
and defend his countrv's flajr, and not to commit 
rapine and murder? What high-toned gentlpinan 
%vould not feel, tiie very instant you convinced him 
that such acts were to be allowed in the armv, 
that it was no place for him ? It would I e to him 
an inducement to enter the army, to believe that it 
was to be governed by con.siderations of honor 
and morality, and propriety of demeanor, where- 
ver it went; and that he was to be with men 
who would nf)t tarnish the fame of Ins country — 
men who would not commit acts unworthy of a 
gentleman and an honest man. These are my 
views of the feelings of the veteran and of the 
young patriot, and I find nothing in these extracts 
either to offend the one, or to chill the ardor of the 
other. 

The senator read another extract : 

"One company of Texas foot volunteers, which 
has rendered excellent service in the campaign, is 
now on the march to Camargo, tliere to be mus- 
tered out of service." 

In commending the troops in the general order, 
no regiment had heev. mentioned. The mounted 
regiments of Texas had been noticed and com- 
mended in the order for their discharge: but this 
was the first time that these men of ihe foot com- 
pany had been s|iecially noticed. If the senator 
chooses to torture it into injustice because a foot 
company is commended which had not before 
been noticed, while the mounted rea"'ments were 
not again mentioned in connexion with it, though 
they had oefore been commended, I will leave it 
for him to do so, but will first tell him that the 



foot company deserved special commendation, not 
only for its gallant service at Monterey, but for the 
circumstances connected with its being there. It 
was Captain Sbriver's company, composed mainly 
of volunteers from the State of Mississippi. I 
know how it got there. Though it fought m the 
army under the standard of Texas, it was raised 
chiefly in the St ite of Mississippi, and in the coun- 
ty adjoining that in which I reside. Unable to get 
into the service from Mississippi, they went to 
Louisiana; unal)le to <;et into the service in Louis- 
iana, they went to Texas. They there served to 
make up the complement of that one fool regiment 
which Texas furnished ; and when that regiment 
declined to remain in service at Camargo, that one 
company offered their services, were accepted, 
and, being recruited by the voluntary enrolment of 
discharged Tex:-.ns, performeil duties in the sfig* 
and attack on Monterey for which they were just- 
ly commended. 

And here, sir, we touch the sjiring of the sena- 
tor's declamation, that which iTiakes him. so prompt 
to notice any commendation-, of that single compa- 
ny, although the whole of the Texan mounted re- 
giments had been elsev^'here comniended. That 
was a Mii-sissippi companj', with some Texans 
added to it, at its independent organization when 
mustered into service at Camargo. 

The senator repeats in his nrstand in his second 
spech that the Texans had command of the city 
and had possession of all its fastnesses; that they 
had taken tlieheiuhts and the Bishop's palace and 
the plazn, and that they with difficulty could be 
restrained from destroying the town. 

Now, sir, the main battle in the storming of 
Monterey, as you,|sir, (Mr. Shields in the chair,) 
well know, was fought at the east end of the 
town. There their great tlefences were erected. 
When General Taylor approached the town and 
leconnoitied, his observations and that military- 
genius which won for him the fame he acquired, 
and which gave him the confidence of the army- 
he led, proved to lum the great advantage which 
would result from tnabinga flank movement, turnj 
ing the position of the enemy upon the other side 
of the town, attacking it at the same time ufOii 
1 oth extremities, and cutting off the co > munica- 
tion with Saltillo. He ordered that gallant .'-oldier, 
Majo! Mansfield, of the f ngineers, to make a re- 
connoissance, which was done under the enemy's 
guns, and reported, with a map of the route and 
positions. Upon that report he ordered a division 
of tried troops, under command of an accomplished 
soldier, General Worth, to take that position and 
attack the enemy on the heights. Cut the hard 
work, sir, w-as at the other end of the town; tliere 
their principal field fortifications were erected. 
They flarked each other according to the well 
known rules of war; and if thise should be taken, 
it was but to encounter the stone walls of the mas- 
sive houses on each side of the streets, and the 
barriers across th' m. Tiiere, sir, wrs the heart 
of the battle. There were deeds of valor to be 
done; there the greatest sacrifice of life was to be 
encountered, and that was the place to which the 
old chief went himself. Healways went where the 
the hardest blo-^-s were to be giv n and received. 

Now, sir, in the battles of Monterey there were 
about 500 men lost, counting the killed, wounded 
and missing. Of those 500 cajualties, 400 occur- 



12 



red at the east end of tlie town and on (he first 
iay of the battle. .And sit tlie east end of the 
town, and on the first'day of rhe balile, hew many 
Texans do you suppose were enjai^ed? One, sir ; 
the late Coione! (Jolinfson,) of the Texas foot, 
who, as inspector s^enernl, sc-rv<d in General Hut- 
ler's division. The Texans were not there, lie- 
cnuae that was not ihe post assiijne(J them. They 
■would have heen tliereif tney had been ort'erc^i, 
and would have behaved them>'elves no doubt like 
the rest of the men. Of iliat there is no quci-tmn 
in my mind. They were on duty .•:t their fiosts — 
posts and duties not unimportant because less 
dangerous than th;\t. To prevent misapprehen- 
sion, I atld that Captain S'lriver's company of 
MissiKsippi:ins, recruited, as ) have s lil, fr'uii dis 
'char<;-ed Texans, served in t!ie attack on r!ie cast 
end of the town. It was in tlie first day's hard 
conflict, where, without a battery train, and under 
£re of that new citadel wiiich commandej the 
v.hole plain, and under command of three works 
well !J;arnished with artillery, and flanking each 
other, the volunteers of t!ie army, and a very 
email part of t!ie regulars, storrner! tiie enemy's 
advanced works, and drove them into the interior 
of the town.( Ii was that first day's hard fighting 
whicii subsequently compelled them to concen- 
trate on the plaza; and it was not till after tl.at, 
• n the third day, when these forces were concen- 
trated in the town, that the Texans were dis- 
mounted, and, serving on foot, entered it with 
other iroojiS. Then, sir, on the third day, one of 
the Texan regiments upon the west enii, and tlie 
other at the east end, jierformed good service in 
the town. That regiment, which came iVom the 
f'd lands of Texas entered the town with the Mis- 
sissippi regiment, and the two resciments struggled 
together throughout tlie day, side by side, advanc- 
ing alternately upon one side of the street and the 
other, scaling the walls and climbing houses. 
With fraternal feeling and neneroiia riva'ry, they 
fought together; and these were the Txans, thee 
only Texans, who ever saw the plaza before ibe 
capitulation. I well remember, Mr. Presitlent, 
tlie gallantry of those Texans cm that day. I feel 
for ihem now an aiiachinent v.-]iich tliev under 
stand, and which t'ley vv.^ll know, would never 
permit me to detract in any degree from their fivmc. 
lleady for ev^ry adventure — prompt, even reck- 
less in the i)resence nf danger — they bore them- 
•elvcs through all the dangers of the day ; and 
with the Mi.-:sissippi rpgiment 'hey occupied a 
house from whii;!i they saw one corner of the 
plazH, but they looked over a Mexitaii liarricade 
to see it. These were the only tioops that ever 
eaw it before the caoitulation, 

Now, sir, when the order v/ns received to with- 
draw from that point, to evacuate the town, t'le 
General, as 1 luve heird, h:id received notice of a 
<iesire for can to ation on the part of the enemy. 
Our troops folt, asilie sen itor from Maryland vfry 
justly said the other dity, that there w.is greater 
danger in returning thin in. maintaining their po- 
eition. R'I'i.'-e than t'us, tlieir mind.s had been in- 
tent on relainiiiiJ: their present posiiiou or ndvanc- 
iuiT. They and the Mississippian-;; had construi'ted 
a species of hurdle, under cover of which they ex- 
pected to pass the barrier of the enemv whicli com- 
manded the stree', and to gain a position from 
which they could fire into the plaza. They were 
intent upon theirobject, and unwilling to retire. 



They knew the danger of retiring, it wa.s true. 
Hut in tlie speech of the senator from Maryland, 
if it was intendf/d to say that they did no; wish 
to retire, because they feared the dansjer of retir- 
ing, he d;d them less than justice. They had gain- 
ed a strong place, and they wanted to advance, we 
all wished It advaiicc, and believed we saw spee- 
dy success. Whcnthe act of retiring commenced, 
it was quite as critical as the advance had been. 
The .support of the troops in the rwir had been 
vi^ithdrawn — the officer in coinmnnd of that divis- 
ion havitiLT sup{iosed that we of the advanee were 
retiring also, Ufider these circumstances, the 
streets were occupied and wiis swept by the fire of 
the Mexicans, as ilieseTexansand Mi-s.sissippians 
retired across thjin. This was tlie service, theon'y 
service, on whicli any claim to taking the plaza 
must rest; it was parrticipaied in by Col. Wood's 
regiment, Major General Ilendersmi, an old sol- 
dier, tried and true, commanding in person. None 
who Vv-ere there will ever deny to .them one parti- 
cle of that praise whi. h has been accorded to tliem; 
and tliey,like ourselves, will lau<;h at the extrava- 
gant claim which the senator has set up for them. 
Eut the senator wa.s struck with surprise at the 
employment of these Texans to garrison Laredo, 
when tliey had I.eliaved so badly; and from the 
! purpose of their employment he drew tlie argu- 
; meut that ilic general in the field liad one boun- 
I dary for Texas, and the President of the United 
Slates had another. Now, sir, I can very readily 
: understand fucli a case. I can very well un- 
derstand how, as the President, acting <ni his 
I fiwn convictions, he should pursue a different 
policy from that of the general in the field; acting 
' under orders, whicli required him to con.sider the 
I Piio Grande the boundary of Texas. Weallre- 
I collect tiie extensive correspondence, tlie explicit 
oiiiers which he received to consider the Rio 
j Grande the boundary; after v,hich he advanced to 
! the Rio Grande. In this order, which directed 
I General Lamar to hold possession of Laredo, it 
I was announced as a purpose to protect the Texans 
from Indian incursions, and to facilitate the ex- 
tension of the jurisdicti(m oi' Texas to the Rio 
I Grande. Such were the orders and duties of the 
I General, and he was carrying them out in his in- 
structions to Lamar. Ife was incurring a respon- 
.sibility in em[iioying Texans without being so 
I authorized. Asid on this question, as he had done 
I before, he took llie hazard of employing Texans 
without having received authority from the War 
Department. Ti'e oilier ca.se was, when hemust- 
ered in t!ie mounted regiments to which I refer, 
for a second tour of three months, while all other 
j volunteeis were refused for less than a year, under 
a law svhicli specified the term. When lie did srt, 
1 lie complimented them in advance of service by a 
j confidence in their efficiency which formed ths 
justification of iiis act. 

I He staed his anxiety to have these mounted 
I troops — his necessity for them; and, under that 
1 nece:-isity, he took the responsibility of mustering 
i them in under conditions which were denied to 
I all the otht-r Stares !>y the War Department. Sir, 
I it was deemed advisable to statioo a small garri- 
I son i,t Lni-edo, and he preferred men who had 
j fought at iVIonierev, to be placed iintier command 
of a soldier he had seen tried. Thererm-e, Gene- 
I ral Lamar was authorized to recruit a company 
from the men who had served under ilays and 



13 



Wood, and to proceed to the frontier of Texas. — 
Sir, whenever, a General of the Army of the 
United States sliull take upon himself such a 
heavy responsibility tis this, for the benefit of the 
Slate of Mississippi — whenever a general of the 
army of the United Slates shall incur such 
hazard as this to protect tne frontier of the State 
of Mississippi — miy my ton<i;ue be paralyzed 
before it R|)eal\8 in his defimin ition ! Others 
have dilferent rules by which to ineasure their 
gratitude for servji-es done. I have no wisli to 
prescribe fir thern a standard, but 1 have a right 
to speak for myself. 

Then, Mr. President, to follow the senator in his 
main points — fir I will not scrutinize thedelails — lie 
refer-' to a le!ter in which thecomniandinij; general 
said he had mustered in the company of CaptMin 
Baylor, and in that letter mentioned t'lat he had 
cent M ijor Chevalier's baitalion fri)ai M )nterey 
to Saltillo, and siid attain, what he and many 
other officers had previously noticed, that outra- 
ges were comm'tted ui)on the pjaceCul inhabitants 
of Mexico. He mentions, t'lo, the improvement 
in tlie conductof those troopts which had been mus- 
tered in forthe war overthose which had been mits- 
tered in for a year. He s )e iks of the discipline of 
those mustered in for t!ii^ v,' ir, and speaks of it fa- 
vorably. He .says : " O'the infantry I have hiid 
little or no complaint." • He does nit svy he 
makes no connlaint, but that he had little or no 
complaint. " Tne mounted mci of Texas have 
s:a'-cely made an expedition without unwirranta- 
bly killing a Mexican." Now, sir, all the tn-ade 
into wh.oh the senator breaks out when he suys, 
"what an airociiy to kill a Mexican !" — l\II tliis 
is answered by the word unwu-ranlably, which 
precedes the word " kiilin':;-." That indicated the 
nature of the act, the killing of peaceful, unarmed 
people. 

Then the Senator talks as though he had taken 
ail attitude against which no man ^ould everoti'er 
resistance. How does it happen that these men, 
so wanton and outrageous "that the commanding 
general could not control them in t!ie face of a 
large armv, were sent tn Siltillo, wlierethere was 
none to control and restrain them from outrages?" 
I will tell you how it was. At Monterey, which 
was now an interior post, there were five or six 
hundred men — a wide-spread, thickly-settled coun- 
try, where temptation-i to plunder and outrage 
were presented in every directio'. AtS iltilloGen. 
Wool commanded a division of more than two 
thousand men, who were stationed in a country 
sparsely settled, and svliere the inhabititnts from 
their pre.'iousconduct had less claim upon our care 
and where, the neighborhood being more infested by 
robber bands, the people had been to a great extent 
driven in to the limits of the town, and the changes 
wave greater that if the soldiers on an expedition 
killed a Mexican they would kill some of the 
party of robbers. It was, then, not as stated, 
but that, they were sent into the presence 
of a large force — into a country where if they 
committed irregularities, they would probably be 
fewer, and could be better restrained. It is known 
to all who have endeavored ina.ny minute degree to 
inform themselves that, even aft^r hostilities ceased 
— after the towns were in possession of our troops 
— the nbber bands hung about the district, and 
Attacked individuals who w^dered too far from 



the chain of sentinels. They committed trespasset 
upon those peaceful inhabitants who had furnished 
supplies; and against these harass! n<j: enemies iiwaa 
necessary to send out expeditions of mounted men. 
Then, sir, it was a transfer oft roops to a place where 
they could not do so much harm, and might do more, 
good. There is the answer. Nor am 1 compelled to 
stop there. TheTexans themselves condemned the 
atrocities committed by smie of their country- 
men, and a company of them, as I understand,- 
were refused companionship by this battalion, and 
were, by force of moral intluence, compelled to 
withdraw. I have no wish to dwell on cases, and 
have not charged my memory with them ; but I 
say to the Senator, go to any Texan, brave and 
honorable as m my of the:n are known to him to 
be, who served then and there, and ask him about 
the f icts ; I doubt not he will tell him that the 
rebukes fir su-.h atrocities, if too general, never- 
theless were just within the proper limit of their 
application and were tempered to the list degre?. 

The .senator the other d \y re.'erred to one of 
these brave soldiers who .■^ei-ve I in th it particular 
bafallion, and who is no.v in this city. I do not 
know that t!ie senttor knew all the points which 
he mi'j^ht gain in his reference. Perhaps he was 
not aware that that gentlem m was a publisher of 
a news;iape;- after Gen. Taylor entered Matamor- 
as ; and in that position he was induced to take 
notice of him rather harslily. But, sir that gen- 
tlemen, gallant as he was — lishiiig, daring un- 
managea'jle to some extent — after his press was 
broken up, became a soldier. Ask him, as a sol- 
dier, whether he ever received any thing but jus- j 
tice from Gen. Taylor. Ask him whether he re- 
ceived anything but kindness and consideration 
when he approached hiin. Ask him whether he 
will cntiorse any one of the charges which the 
Senator from Texas made. I think I know him 
well enough to anticipate his answer. 

But the senator finds in this letter a request to 
the eftect that no more troops may be sent froi» 
Texas, and upon this he breaks out again into 
r.ipturous declamation. Now, sir, it was knowa 
that no more troops, except mounted troops, were 
expected from Texns ; ifmore were drawn thence, 
that they would be mounted men ; and, taken in con- 
nexion with this known fact, it meant no more 
than that Gen. Taylor wanted no more volunteer 
cavalry. If I should ever have the fortune to 
command an army, or, what is much more prob- 
able, if you, Mr. President [Mr. Smjelds] should 
ever be placed in that responsible situation, our 
experience in Mexico would tell us that we wanted 
none but regular cavalry — no 'irregular mounted 
men of anj kind. 

Then, .Vir. President, passing over that — of 
which perhaps I should not have taken so much 
notice — the senator introduces the gallant, lamen- 
ted Walker who he says, was mainly instrumental 
in saving the army at Palo Alto. Now, sir, [ 
do not deny that ^he was a good officer. He 
perf irmed rather a desperate adventure in bearing 
an express to Fort Brown, when the troops had 
marcheii to Point Isabel ; but I never before heard 
that any event resulted from that express which 
would not have occurred if it had been captured. 
That express, as far as I know anything of it, wa^ 
to inform the garrison of Fort Brown that the troops 
at Point Isablel were to return as soon as they 



14 



eouW. They would have held out if they had not 
h°ard fromihem, and if they had not reiurned forji 
period much longer than elapsed. Tliey never 
would have punendered, had they known that i' 
would have been a moiitli before the troo[)s would 
arrive. And, sir, this very express was g:uarded, 
when it went up, by Capt. May, with some of liis 
dragoons, who went within si^ht of Fort Brown, 
passing the camp of the enemy. He then waited 
for the express tnan to return, and delayed so lonj: 
before returning without him that he was compel- 
led to pass the enemy's camn, afier daylight: 
and the delay came very near doing an immense 
amount of harm, by causing the loss of a portion 
of the cavalry force already very small. 

Then, sir, the senator from Texas introduced 
anothe;-, a hio:liIy meritorious, probably more dis 
tinguis'.ed soklier from Texas— Captain McCul- 
loch a man to whom we all accord high quali- 
ties as a partisan offi'-er, and credit for valuable 
eervices wherever employed. He was highly es- 
teemeil by all portions of the army. Hut for Cap- 
tain McOulloch, he claims the f-ici of ili<- defence 
being made at lluena Vista. The Senator s.iy.s: 
" Instead of saving in that re|>orl that Captain 
McCulIochgave'inrormation at Lncarnacion which 
saved the army, he merely remarks tliat he was 
of great service on that occasion. Yes, sir, it 
was McCulloch who reconnoitered the ene- 
my's camp and gave the first intimation of the ad- 
vance of Sunta Anna ; and this enabled our troops 
to fall back fmm Agua Nueva to Rueiia Vista, 
where a gallant defence was made." It is very 
true McCulloch was detached to reconnoitre the 
advance of the Mexicans at Encarnacion, and re- 
ported the fact that he saw a body of Mexicans 
there— a fact which in itself was worth si little 
that it was necessary to make another reconnol.s- 
Bance, and the next one was .naHe two fold. Col. 
May reconnoitered in the direction of Hedioiitia, 
McCulloch in that of Encarnacion. Col. May 
met the enemy by a fortuitous ad ance of a por- 
tion of his reconnoitreimr party, and it w:.s neces- 
sary for it to return by dilTerent routes. Colonel 
May came 'n during the night, ni.d reported the 
presence of a large force at Hedionda. His lieu- 
tenant came in the next morning, and reported the 
direction of another encampment. This, sir, was 
the reconnoissance which compelled us K. fall i ack 
on Buena Vista. Had it l>een known there that 
Santa Anna would come from Encarnacidn with 
his whole force thoughlhe puss of Carnero, Gen. 
Taylor would probably, with his tents standing, 
have fought the battle on that field, and have 
beaten them more entirely, if possible, than at 
Buena Vista. They would have been compelled 
to lay down their arms, and beg for water, of 
which they could obtain none short of einhteen 
miles in theirrear. But, sir, the fact being known 
that there were two passes in h;s rear, which ren- 
dered it probable, from the report of Colonel May, 
that if he stood where he was the Mexican army 
would turn his position, and take the whole of his 
Buppiies at Saltillo, compelling him to fight the 
enemy in position, perhaps onthe very ground he 
had himself .selected for defence, it became neces- 
sary, to avoid this contingency, that he should 
fall back. 

i dislike, Mr. President, to speak as an eye- 
witness, and yet 1 cannot tell the whole of this 
transaction without speaking of it aa such. 



The morning that Col. May came in with the 
report of his observation, there were among the 
troojis some speculation, and much feeling against 
falling back. I well remember that the regiment 
that I had the honor of commanding was then 
iiiider arms for inspection. 1 was then ordered to 
strike my lenis, and hold myself in readiness to 
nacrh to Buena Vista that morning unless further 
nitelligenceshould inducefurtherorders. Weho[)ed 
halCaptaiii McCullou^h would bringin such intel- 
ligence. We were afraid, however, after the time 
oasscd when he was expected, that he was lost; 
for we well knew that he was as daring as he was 
skilful, and tlnmgli we had great confidence in hia 
resources. Me had great fear that he had made his 
•econnoissance too closely and lost his life. Be- 
fore his return the movement to the rear was 
nude. This service at Agua Nueva of McCul- 
'ough and the other on the lower Rio Grrande 
of Walker, were fully recognized in the reports 
I f>f Palo Aito and Buena Vista. The Texans are 
sptdfcn of here and elsewhere as they deserved, not 
I as having won the balile, not as having decided tlie 
file of the army, not a:? having instructed General 
Taylor in the art of war, but as having done their 
. duly, ii' d done it well. That was the only com- 
mendaiion that he gave to those who did most, 
litisfrtm such material aa this that the senator 
I has built lii-i fabric of prejudice against the State 
of Texas. If, sir, some senator from another State, 
(say La.) had undertaken to prove thatTexas was 
treated with special consideration and favoritism, it 
could have been much I etter sustained. He would 
at least have had the opportunity to show that, 
while the Louisiana troops were discharged, be- 
cause they would not enter by re engagement for 
the term required by the act of Congress, that is to 
say, for one ye.u- — tlie Texan troops were re- 
ceived with the privilege of being mustered out at 
the end of three months. They might liave 
pointed to the arrangement of Camargo, where 
permission was freely given to the Texan infan- 
try to advance to Monterey, if they would re- 
engage, not for a year, but for a anoiher term of 
three mouths. From any other State this charge 
would have come better. It would not have been 
true from any. Tlie answer is ready for each, 
(land the reason is fully set forth in the publishe- 
correspondence. But it would have been more- 
fuby sustained from any other. 

Tlie report and correspondence fully show that 
due jiiytice was given to the troo})s that served in 
battle; and it was given in that brief positive style 
that was his own. He never dealt in superla- 
tives or superfluities, but in brief, positive, nnd 
pointed language, and gave to each the credit that 
was his due, and condemned in all the irregulari- 
ties which they committed. It was not, asthe sen- 
ator's research seems to have induced him to sup- 
po.'?e,'that Texas alone received condemnation for 
iireach of orders and good conduct. In har.sher 
terms than were ever bestowed upon the troops of 
Texas, the troops of Arkansas were censured in 
orders at Agua Nueva. Even nt Matamoras, in 
the early part of the occupation of Alexican ter- 
ritory, the irregularities of the new levies were 
noticed the ^reat difficulty in the task of con- 
ciliating the inabitants of the enemy's country. 
Then the hope was expresse i that discipline 
would correct the evil. I read an extract from 
an official letter of General Taylor, wriuen at hia 



15 



"Headquarters, Matamoros, Auff. 1, 1845. 

* • * "Since crossing the Rio Gninde it has 
been my constant aim to conciliate the people of 
the country; and I have the satisfaction of Reliev- 
ing that much has been done towards tliat ol ject- 
aot only here, but atReinosa, Camargo, and other 
towns hiirher up the river. The only ol stacle I 
'encounter in oarryincr out thi.s desirable policy 
arises from the employment of volunteer troops. 
Some excesses have been committed by them 
Bpon the people and their property, and more, I 
fear, are to be afiprchended. With every exer- 
tion, it is impossible efiVctually to control these 
troops, unaccostompd as they are to the discipline 
of cam;>s, and losinu; in bodies the restraining- 
8en>€ of individual responsibility. With increased 
length of service, these evils, itis lioped, will di- 
minmh. " 

At a later period the troops of mnny States 
were involved in a reprehension, which the want 
of special information mnde ijeneral. I now refer 
to the exnres;sions containeti in the very letter of 
June 16, 1847, which the senator quoted to s'low 
how hitter the General was a2:ain-it the TeKans. 
That leiter referred to any others than the tr )ops of 
Texas; it referr ed to the twelve months' mpii — 
those who had just been mustered out. The Tex- 
ana were noltwelve months men, and hid been mus- 
tered out more than eiirht monilis neforc tlie date 
oftheletter. The peaceful iiihabitantsofihe villaijes 
alonsfllie road complaine of the ouinijjes of these re 
turninj: volunteers. That the complaint was nude 
and tlie outrage.s were committed, [ have no m n-e 
douhtof the one than of the other. The Mississippi 
regiment went down about that time, and was of 
the character of troops described in the letter. 
But I have never "^ iiiced" under it, my "withers 
were un wrung." I have never f e t that it had 
any application to -the Mississippi troops, and 
therefore I have felt nothing, and had nothing to 
say about it. Let any Texan, ap n-oved at home 
or abroad, be consulted by the senator from 
Texas on these points, and he will, I lhini<, 
find that he will agree with me mainly in what 1 
have said. On no important point do 1 l.eiieve 
there would be any difference. Go to those who 
served under Taylor in battf, where his form, 
hke the whiteplume of Henrv. was a glide to 
point the bravest to the htittest of the fight— to 
those who have shared the toil of his m irches, 
arid who will not fail to remem' er hi.s attention, 
his kindne.ss an I his cheerful, unaffei-ted greetinjr, 
whenever they api)roached him — goto him whose 
private affairs led him to seek a counsellor in his 
General; or, further still, go to the wounded man 
who rereived his care, and ask him whether vain 
pride, or selfishness, or coldness was in his heart, 
and yoi will receive from each and all the fiMw 
answer — No! The renown of his puiilic career, 
the fame that he gained in battle, was a co'u'n 
for the pubic admiration, more perishalile, less 
desirable, than that impression which was made 
in the hearts of those who knew him. It was his 
sterling private virtues t'lai made every s ddier he 
commanded his friend; it was this which, com- 
bined with confiden e in his military skill, gave 
bim that power to lead his thousands on where 
thousands bleed. 

It was this that always made his subordinates 
ready to serve him, and never willing to leave 
him, tiie distressed found sympathy, thef.iend- 



less a friend, and the brow thnt was terrible to. 
the unprincipled oppressor, spoke hope and en- 
couragement to the oppressed. It was this beau- 
tiful trait in his character which caused him to 
scorn all those whose want of morality led them 
to commit aggressions upon the unarmed and de- 
fenceless, a was this which caused the pride of 
his triimphant followers to mingle with the grat- 
litude of the people he conquered. It was this 
winch caused the victorious shout to be mingled 
with the blessings of the down trodden, whom 
he rai.sed, the defenceless, whom he protected, 
and which brought so many other leaves b( side 
the laurel to hide the cyprsss of his triumphal 
arch. 

His character may be very briefly stated : hon- 
es', sincere, res dure, true to his fnends, chav'ta- 
ble to his enemies, andjust^to all men,*«iave where- 
benevolence turned Jiisiice aside. Of all of tlie ac- 
cusations that could be brought against any man, 
none could be more unfounded than that of a want 
>f sympathy with the brave whom he commanded. 
Though stern and unmoved in battle, he came 
with a parent '.s solicitude to his suffering com- 
rades when the strife had ceased; the man' whose 
eagle eye shone through the smoke of battle, yet 
would t'eel a mother's softness o'er it creep when 
he looked upon thesufferingofa wounded coinrade. 

After the close of the battle of Monterey, he 
divided the little comforts he jiosse.ssed among 
the wounded, and sent even the presents of fruit 
which he received from the inhabitants of the 
country to be distributed at the hospitals. Away, 
away, with the reflection! It were as well to deny 
fluctuation to water, or cohesion to grani e, as 
manly sympathy to Tavlor's heart. 

When the Senator reiteratedly charges him with 
prejudice against a State, it bjit shows how little 
he understood his character. So far from being 
well founded, lean say, ii' ever I knew a man 
who was entirely above sectionality, he V\ m one. 
To this his education conduced : he had grown up 
in the army, and served his country in every por- 
iKui of it. His fame was identified with his wiiole 
country, and his affections were as broad as hio 
Vvhole country. I never hiard a sectional remark 
made to him that it was not checked or rebakedj 
as it might deserve one or the other. FTow could 
it be supposed thata State tor which hehad taken 
such higii responsibility, to secure the volunteers 
of which hehad incurred responsibility — personal 
and official — -Aould, through any portion of its 
representatives, have spoken thus of him. 

IJut the senator, after having arraigned hisp i» 
vale traits, then called in question hi-s military en- 
dowments. He said that the battalions fell at 
Monterey; aid he would not say how they were 
disposed; he spares ciinc.sm on Gen. Taylor, 
svhoseinovement.saresaid to have been pronounced 
above criticism by the first soldiej- of Europe. He 
is over kind. Critii'.isni is defied. But 1 hope 
the senator will at least learn the locaaliiie.s of the 
'o\/n before the task of criticism is performed upon 
ihe manner in which it was successfully invested 
andattacked. Then let him try it atany point, from 
ihec unmt-ncenieiit of the siege to the close of the 
capitulation. All criticism is equally defied of his 
more remarkable battles, those of Palo Alto and 
llesaca de la Palma; tho.se battles which set upon 
our armies the zeal of invincibility, and whicli 
led the way — yes, made the future victories acoa- 



16 



sequence. Or, if he choose, he may go to the 
last, that was filled with fco many crises, and 
■which v/as so important in its results; foushi 
against such numerical odds without an erro- 
neous order, either as to position or time. So 
fortuitous was every event in that remarkable 
contest, that I hold it surpassed human wisdom, 
and must be assigned to the superintending cure 
of Providence. 

It has taken me longer to explam some of the 
points to which I fflt bound to refer than 1 ex- 
pected. I therefore will omit a great number of 
those, to which I had intended to refer. Imper- 
fectly 1 have discharged a duty wliich I felt it in- 
cumbent on me to p'erform. If I had died last 
njo-ht, it would have caused me to die with a feel- 
ing of regret that 1 had left it undone. I have 
do1ie it now as a simple duly, not from any un- 
kindness to the senator, far less from any dispo- 
sition to detract from or depreciate in any degree 
the soldiers of Texas. Cut it was that I mighi 
do justice to many of my comrades, whose dusi 
now mingles vvitii' the earth upon which they 
fought— that 1 might not leave unredressed the 
wrongs of the buried dead. 

1 have endeavr red to suppress all personal leeling. 
Though the character of the iittack upow my friend 
and General might have pardoned its indulgence. 
It is true that sorrow sharpens memory, and tiiat 
many deeds of noblest self-sacrifi.'e, many lender 
associations, rise now vividly before me. _ 

I rememl)er the purity of his character, his vast 
flnd varied resources, which made him, though he 
never descended to impure means, always th':- 
best informed man in his camp of all which was 
passing about him. 1 remember how the good and 
great ([nalilies of his heart were equally and joiiii- 
ly exhibited when We took the immense respon- 
sibility under which he acted at the battle of 
Buenr. ViBta, fought after he had been recommend- 
ed by his seniorgeneral to retire to Montery. He 
then found himself with five thousand men, opposed 
to twenty one thousand veterans, marshalled againsi 
!!iim. The struggle between the duties of the sol- 



dier, what inight be the feelings of the soldier., 
and the sympathies of the man, were terrible.— • 
Around him stood those whose lives were in his 
charge, whose mothers, fathers, wives and chil- 
dren" would look to him for their return — those 
were there who had shared his fortunes on other 
fields — some who, never having seen a battle, were 
eager for the combat, without knowing how dire- 
ful it wiuild be — immediately about him those 
loving and beloved, and reposing such confidence 
in their commander that they but waited his beck 
and will to do and dare. On him, and on him alone, 
rested the responsibility. It was in his power t» 
avoid it by retiring to Monterey, there to be in- 
vested and captured, and then ju.stify himself 
under his instructions. He would not do it, 
but cast all upon the die, resolved to inaintai« 
his country's honor, and save his country's 
flag from trailing in the dust of the enemy be 
had soj often beaten, or close the conquerer'a 
career a's became the soldier. His purpose never 
wavered — his determination never ft\liered ; his 
country's honor to be untarnished, his country's 
flag to triumph, or for himself to find an honorable 
srravf, w?.s the only alttrnaiive he considered. — 
Under these circumst;inces, on the morning of the 
23d of February that glorious but bloody conflict 
commencLMl. It won for him a chaplet that it 
would be a disgrace for an American to mutilate, 
and which it were an idle attempt to adorn. I 
leave it to a graiei'ul country, conscious of his ser- 
vices, and with a discrimination not to be con- 
founded by the assertions of any, however high i« 
position, in concluding it is bucjust to myself 
and the Senator from Texas for me to say, that 
I have been induced, thus fully to notice his re- 
marks, because of the value they receive from his 
own historical chara.ter the fact that, with suck 
value attached, thev ere to go on the congressio- 
nal record of thecouiitrv ; lhusacr|uiring perpetuity 
and circulation by the high position he holds, and 
from which he scatters these opinione over tl»e 
land. 



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